The Doll Blog

March is my favorite month of the year. It’s my birthday month, Spring, (which more importantly, here in the North Country, means that Winter is almost over. And we get 10 to 12 feet of snow - we’re really, really, really ready for winter to be over!)
And of course, its Hinamatsuri, The Japanese Dolls [...]

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Hi Folks!
Just back from the 2009 American International Toy Fair that was held in the Jacob Javitz convention center in NYC last week.
It is my sincere pleasure to report that my friend Fanny Wong won the inventor/designer award at the fifth annual Wonder Women of Toys Awards, presented by Women In Toys and ‘Playthings’ Magazine, [...]

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Golliwog Dolls are based on the children’s books by Florence Kate Upton, the first book featuring a Golliwog was written in 1895. The popular black faced minstrel baby doll went on to appear in many more books and as an advertising character for the next hundred years. However, the ‘word’ golliwag, has come to be [...]

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Let’s cut right to the chase. The first and only African American Ty Girlz © are named Sasha and Malia. Ty Inc. spokeswoman Tania Lundeen says the dolls aren’t based on the Obama daughters. She says Sasha and Malia were chosen because “they are beautiful names.” Really? Check out the Social Security Administration list of [...]

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As promised, the story of how a doll saved our business.
Back in 2002, the dot.com crash had hurt our ability to give as generously to charity as we liked, and we were looking for a new ’stream of income’ from which to rebuild our charity gifting. So Addie and I started our first eCommerce stores, [...]

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Hi friends;
I have a pretty serious request for all my readers today. I am going to ask, no BEG! - you all to go to this link and sign this petition. The US government, in it’s attempts to increase toy safety, ( a good thing ) has written rules that require testing of all toys [...]

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I’ve commented before on the Barbie vs. Bratz case, and followed it with interest, but even I was surprised with the severity of the final judgement:
MGA must immediately stop making Bratz dolls
MGA must pull all Bratz Dolls off the shelves and out of the stores.
MGA must pay the retailers for the unsold dolls AND pay [...]

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Times are tough, the American economy is taking a major ass-whupping… Us too - last year our average order was $40, this year it’s probably $20. But we sell a basic item in our online stores: ethnic baby dolls, and to a small niche. If you are Black, Hispanic or Asian, and [...]

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It is so easy to offend… and yes I am talking dolls. For instance, two little words, nude, and Barbie. Ten little letters in the English language. Yet put them together — Nude Barbie — and whole treatises could be written about feminism, pornography, nudity, little girls self image…. it goes on and on. And [...]

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It’s the start of the Christmas baby doll buying season and dolls cost more this year. Why?
Fuel and transport costs.
Rising labor costs.
General inflationary pressures.
But to a large extent… new toy safety regulations passed in August by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.
Lead:Scope: Materials and substrate of any children’s products.
Requirement: The limits on lead [...]

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